Sanctimonious Bill Bennett Blows 8 Million on Slot Machines

[Clancie]

The holier-than-thou author of "The Book of Virtues" (and more) admits the press reports that he is a compulsive (and unsuccessful) gambler are true.

Or, in the words of a Las Vegas casino where Bennett enjoys high roller privileges, "We have a name for this kind of person. We call them losers."

I've always disliked Bill Bennett. What a smug, self-satisfied hypocrite preaching his idea of "virtue" as if it was automatically right for everyone else, too.

Frankly, I'm glad to see him getting a little "heat" from the press.

And compulsively losing big bucks on slot machines!!!!???? What a dummy!

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-people-bennett.html

[Cain]

I've been despisng Bill Bennett for a long time. I love how most of his books are authored by ghost-writers, he makes millions of dollars, and then unctuously wriggles his finger at struggling, working-class, single mothers to get off their duffs. Or his position at Heritage where he gets paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to do nothing. Oh, and let's not forget about all of his stupid organizations.

Michael Kinsley has a good article in Slate (and the Wasington Post) pre-emptively refuting the typical nonsense that will come from Bennett defenders: http://slate.msn.com/id/2082526/

Let's also be honest that gambling would not be our first-choice vice if we were designing this fantasy-come-true from scratch. But gambling will do. It will definitely do. Bill Bennett has been exposed as a humbug artist who ought to be pelted off the public stage if he lacks the decency to slink quietly away, as he is constantly calling on others to do. Although it may be impossible for anyone famous to become permanently discredited in American culture (a Bennett-like point I agree with), Bennett clearly deserves that distinction. There are those who will try to deny it to him. They will say:...

[RandFan]

Originally posted by Clancy
The holier-than-thou author of "The Book of Virtues" (and more) admits the press reports that he is a compulsive (and unsuccessful) gambler are true.

Or, in the words of a Las Vegas casino where Bennett enjoys high roller privileges, "We have a name for this kind of person. We call them losers."

I've always disliked Bill Bennett. What a smug, self-satisfied hypocrite preaching his idea of "virtue" as if it was automatically right for everyone else, too.

Frankly, I'm glad to see him getting a little "heat" from the press.

And compulsively losing big bucks on slot machines!!!!???? What a dummy! Been there done that.

Bill Bennett's "Book(ie) of Virtues" (http://www.randi.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18771&highlight=Bill)

This whole thing has been blown out of proportion by the matriarchal-socialist-communist-leftist press. :D

But seriously,

Bill Bennett is not holier than thou. He is a pragmatic and decent man. He has never denied that he gambles and the Catholic Church does not forbid him to gamble. He has never spoken out against gambling.

That said, I do think there is a level of hypocrisy and I think he knows it. But to go on calling him a dummy when he was engaged in a legal act (yes prostitution is legal in Nevada also) is just ad hominem IMO. And what difference does it make how much he spent on slots? Some people spend millions to go to spas and sit in mud. That sounds dumb to me. One mans waste of money is another's fun.

And BTW, I tried to take a photo in a casino once and was escorted into a room by security and had my camera taken away. Only after they realized that I was telling the truth that I had only taken one picture of my best friend did they not take the film out of the camera. When I asked what the big deal was they told me that Casinos are notoriously discreet.

Not any more I guess.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Like I have said for years - as soon as some "moral leader" tells you how to live you life, start investigating. Because you are certain to find crimes or hypocritical behavior.

He is a hypocritical piece of cr*p.

[crackmonkey]

Why is this an issue at all? He could afford it, it was legal, it was probably a relatively modest percentage of his income...

so what?
It would be a different story if he was caught driving drunk or something, but this is really reaching.

[LucyR]

DAMN THEIR OILY HIDES!

Right, this one works

[Dancing David]

Originally posted by RandFan
Bill Bennett is not holier than thou. He is a pragmatic and decent man. He has never denied that he gambles and the Catholic Church does not forbid him to gamble. He has never spoken out against gambling.


.

The point is that Bill Bennet has preached a bunch of crap for years, he helped to destroy public education and constantly whined about how we need more moral values in our schools.

Moral rule: don't set yourself up as some sort of moral example unless you want others to examine your morals.

Peace
dancing David

[aerocontrols]

Originally posted by Dancing David

Moral rule: don't set yourself up as some sort of moral example unless you want others to examine your morals.


Did he set himself up as a moral example?

"Be like me" - was that his message?

MattJ

[ceo_esq]

Originally posted by Clancy
I've always disliked Bill Bennett. What a smug, self-satisfied hypocrite preaching his idea of "virtue" as if it was automatically right for everyone else, too.
His is a sorry case indeed. But this is all ad hominem, of course.

[Clancie]

originally posted by crackmonkey
It would be a different story if he was caught driving drunk
True. He might be President. :rolleyes:

orginally posted by RandFan
That said, I do think there is a level of hypocrisy and I think he knows it.

Yes. I think he does, too. Although he does seem in a bit of denial ("I have no gambling problem.")

orginally posted by RandFan
But to go on calling him a dummy when he was engaged in a legal act (yes prostitution is legal in Nevada also)
Just interjecting...that would have been a much more embarrassing vice for Bennett to have spent 8 million dollars on....

...(continuing)...But I didn't mean Bennett's dumb for gambling, or even for losing money. (The way I lost money in the stock market, that was dumb!)

There are LV games with relatively even odds, and games where the knowledgeable player can have an advantage.

But I can't see how anyone with any kind of intelligence would lose 8 million dollars on slot machines and still think they're rigged in the players' favor. (Of course, it would make perfect sense if he's a compulsive gambler, but he claims he doesn't have any such problem....)

[Tmy]

If your gonna stand on your soapbox then expect to have people rub your face in contraversy. Look at the Dixe Chicks for example. And that was from one comment.

Its not a party thing (for me at least) I just hate preachers. I laughed at Jesse Jackson when he got busted for cheating.

His defense seems to be that its legal. I wonder what Mr. Bennet would say about a guy spending thousands at an equally legal strip club?

[Baker]

Originally posted by Dancing David


The point is that Bill Bennet has preached a bunch of crap for years, he helped to destroy public education and constantly whined about how we need more moral values in our schools.

Moral rule: don't set yourself up as some sort of moral example unless you want others to examine your morals.

Peace
dancing David

Just how did he destroy public education?

[corplinx]

Originally posted by Tmy
If your gonna stand on your soapbox then expect to have people rub your face in contraversy. Look at the Dixe Chicks for example. And that was from one comment.

Its not a party thing (for me at least) I just hate preachers. I laughed at Jesse Jackson when he got busted for cheating.

His defense seems to be that its legal. I wonder what Mr. Bennet would say about a guy spending thousands at an equally legal strip club?

Every clip I have seen of Bennett showed someone not standing on a soapbox or acting preachy. Where are the video clips of this holier-than-thou Bill Bennett everyone keeps talking about?